


Bring Me Back

by Shelby77gt



Category: Transformers, Transformers Prime
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol, Alone, Broken, Cigarettes, Hate, Home, Love, PTSD, Pain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2020-10-27 17:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20764436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shelby77gt/pseuds/Shelby77gt
Summary: Sequel to 'You saved me (A Dreadwing Tale)We left our hero's at a major loss. Shelby's home destroyed. Her father a traitor. But she does have Dreadwing by her side. Now Shelby has a lot she needs to over come. Only 5 months later and she is still struggling. Though Dreadwing is also struggling along with her. He wants her back. She made a promise, but will she stick to that promise? Megatron is still after them, waiting for them to slip up. They have many challenges to overcome. Will they be able to pull it all together?Warning-Graphic content.





	1. Chapter 1

Five Months Later

"She said she was going to get better. Why do I feel nothing as changed." A blue and gold titain exclaimed. 

"June said sometimes it can a long time for someone to heal from PTSD. Sometimes they never heal. It's only been a few months." The leader of the Autobots reminded him. 

"I feel like nothing has changed." Dreadwing stated. 

He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, while Optimus worked on the computer. Trying to decode the rest of the Icon relics. 

"She's gotten a little better. She comes out of the room more often. She seems to be eating some more too. The children seem to have helped quite a bit as well." Optimus reassured him.

The past few months has been a hard battle with Shelby. With her growing depression and her drinking problem, she has been difficult to change. 

"She still refuses to go see someone." Dreadwing continued. 

Its been hard on him as well. Dreadwing has been trying to help, but its hard when she doesn't want it. 

"We can't force it." Ratchet said as he walked in. 

"Where is she now?" Asked Optimus. 

"She's out with Bumblebee getting alcohol and cigarette's. Bee is supposed to make sure she gets food too." Dreadwing rubbed his optics. "It makes it easier now that we all have holoforms, thanks to Ratchet." 

Optimus gave a nod, continuing what he was doing. 

A black and yellow Camaro came racing into base, squealing to a stop in the middle. A dark brown hair women, with blue and black sunglasses over her crystal blue eyes, got out of the car in a hast. She walked to the back of the car, her arms crossed, and waited for the trunk to open. The trunk popped open and she started to grab plastic bags and slid then up her arms, making sure to keep her black hoodie sleeves down. A blond, clean shaven man, with a yellow and black leather jacket open over a yellow t-shirt came out of the driver side. He walked back to start helping the women with bags. Neither of them said a word. Her lips were pierced closed, and she was moving quickly. He attempted to grab some of the bags with the alcohol in it. The women on the other hand was too fast for him. She gave him a quick glare as he tried to take it from her. He gave her a glare right back and tugged on one of the bags. It was a silent war between the two. Both determined to win. 

"Ahem." A grunt came from behind them. 

They both looked up to see Dreadwing staring down at them. This caused the man to let go of the bag. The female realized quickly and made her escape. She ran down the hall as fast as her short legs could take her and she slammed the door closed to her room. The blond watched her run off. He looked up at Dreadwing and waved his arms pointing after her, saying she got away. He gave a huff and took what was left and brought it over to the kitchen, that had been refurbished in the base. As he walked back out, he slowly disappeared into thin air. The Camaro then transformed into the scout for team Prime.

"Bumblebee, how did it go?" Optimus asked turning and looking at him. 

Bumblebee started to beep and whir in anger. Using his hands to demonstrate to them how it went. 

"I see, not so well." Optimus understood. 

"She did what?" Dreadwing inquired. 

Bumblebee started to beep some more, going into more detail. 

"I need to go have a chat with her." Dreadwing fumed. 

He was not happy with the way she behaved with Bumblebee. Optimus stopped him quick with a hand on his shoulder. 

"Don't get to mad at her. Remember that you are not her father, your trying to be her partner, remember?" Optimus reminded him. 

Dreadwing gave him a firm nod and walked down the hall. He walked silently in the room and went into his holoform. He spotted her sitting on the bed, staring at the wall, with a bottle in her hand. She didn't even look over, when he walked in. He could tell she was still angry. 

"Shelby?" He said trying to get her attention. She looked over and gave him a small smile. 

"What happened? With Bumblebee?" He asked her. 

Her smile turned into a frown, her jaw gave a small twitch as she started to grit her teeth together. Her knees went to her chest and her arms wrapped around. She laid her head on her knees and faced away from him. 

"Please don't do this." He pleaded to her. She gave a low grunt, but stayed turned away. 

"I'm sure you already know. I heard Bee yelling about it." She rasped, not looking at him. 

"But I wanted to hear your side of the story." He fretted. 

He walked over to her and sat on the bed next to her. His hands clasped together, wishing he could comfort her better. She turned and looked at him. Took a swig of her drink, then turned cross-legged to him. 

"We just got into a small argument." She began. Dreadwing raised an eyebrow to her. 

"Okay a bit larger of an argument. I know you told him to make sure I got food and when we were going down the aisles, I couldn't figure out what I wanted. So Bee got tired of waiting for me to choose and chose for me. He just started putting stuff into the cart. I got angry and started yelling at him. Well he obviously couldn't yell back but he sure made a fuss. He don't need to talk to make you know he's angry. Then I started taking stuff out of the cart and putting it in random spots. Bee went nuts, cause I know it bugs him when I do that. So I did it to piss him off this time. I kept some stuff to keep you happy. Then when we got to the liquor section, Bee tried to stop me. I would put something in the cart and he would put it back when I wasn't looking." Shelby ranted. 

Dreadwing couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. 

"Are you laughing at me?" She protested. 

"No never. Your just so cute when your mad." He flirted, hoping it would get her to smile again.

"Don't you try and flatter me." She hissed, pointing her pointer finger at him. 

He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. She gave a grunt and attempted to stop him, but she let him anyway. She melted into his chest, resting her head and closing her eyes. Her hands clutching his golden t-shirt. 

He kissed the top of her head and told her, "I will, because its true." 

"You amaze me." She whispered back, her eyes gleaming up at him. 

"Its hard to believe that almost a year ago, you brought me back to life. That's way more amazing than anything I have ever done for you." He pointed out. 

"That's about all I did for you. You rescued me from the Decepticons." She objected. He rolled her eyes at her and squeezed her close. 

"We save each other. How about that?" He proposed. She gave him a weak smile, but nodded her head. 

"Shall we go join the others?" He asked her. 

She gave a loud unneeded sigh, "I guess we can." she said. 

Dreadwing let go of her and stood up from the bed. She took a drink from her bottle, then stood up to join him. He looked at the bottle in her hand, then back up at her. 

"What?" She asked. He looked at it again, with his eyebrows raised, then back up at her. 

She raised the hand holding the bottle. "What about it? I need to finish it." She argued. 

He crossed his arms and shook his head. Then took his hand out and pointed to the desk next to the bed. She flung her shoulders forward and gave him a scrunched up face. 

"Shelby." He growled. 

"Hmph." 

She slammed it back, chugging the rest, then put it on the table and walked out of the room. Dreadwing following behind her with a disapproving frown. 

They had gotten her to slow down a bit on the drinking, but sometimes if they weren't watching she's sneak and get some. Now they started keep it locked up at night. They have been trying to monitor her drinking and making sure she drinks water. So far she has been working with them, but if something triggers a flash back or something, it's not a good day for anybots. The children try and help. They keep her occupied when they are here. In away they help the most. When playing around with them, She doesn't think bad thoughts, she doesn't drink, she doesn't smoke either. This could go on for hours during the day. It didn't start out like that, though. It just started happening about a month ago. They had to get her to come out of the room first. Dreadwing couldn't thank the children enough for their help. 

"Shelby think you could help me with my physics homework? I'm just not getting it." Jack asked walking up to her. 

"Why don't you ask Raf?" She teased. 

She knew Jack didn't really like asking Raf for help. Raf knew his stuff, but sometimes Jack didn't like being outsmarted by a twelve year old. 

"Please, Raf's not here today, and I know your smart too." He begged. 

"Of course I'll help you, lets go sit down." 

They both headed for the platform and made there way up the stairs. They sat down on the yellow old couch and got started. Dreadwing stood in the back, leaning against the wall, Back in his bipedal mode, watching the two work. 

"See your worried about nothing. She's doing great." Bulkhead came up next to him and patted him on the shoulder. 

"I will always worry about her." Dreadwing told him. 

"When you going to ask her?" Bulkhead asked. 

"I don't know. Not yet though. I don't even know if she feels the same." Dreadwing sighed. 

"Well don't wait to long." Bulkhead gave him a little bump on the arm and walked off. 

After a few moments of silence, the proximity alarm started blaring throughout the base. Shelby and Jack had their ears covered, while they waited for it to end. 

"Agent Fowler is here. I wonder why?" Optimus inquired. 

The doors to the elevator opened and Agent Fowler walked in. "Prime!" He yelled right away. 

"Agent Fowler, What can we do for you?" Optimus asked in his deep voice. 

"Do you still got Silas locked up?" Fowler demanded. 

"What do you want with him?" Ratchet inquired. 

At this point, Jack and Shelby stopped working on homework and tuned into the conversation. 

"The boys at the pentagon want to interrogate him." He stated. 

Shelby gave a slight shiver and turned away. She wanted no part now in this conversation. 

"He is currently being kept in stasis. Why do they want to speak with him?" Optimus wondered. 

"They want to hear all about his organization and what happened to the rest of them. Then they plan to send him to prison." Fowler explained. 

"They do know he's in Breakdowns body right?" Jack mentioned. Agent Fowler looked over at him, giving him a dumbfounded look. 

"Of course they know, but do you think they believe me. No! They have to see it for themselves." He ranted. 

"When do they want to see him?" Optimus asked. 

"A.S.A.P" Fowler barked. 

"Autobots. Grab Silas and lets roll out." Optimus ordered. 

The Autobots started to scramble going to get Silas. 

Optimus went to Dreadwing, "Stay here with Ratchet, Shelby and Jack. Make sure you keep an eye on Shelby." He whispered the last part. 

Dreadwing gave him a nod, as well as peering over his shoulder at the platform. Shelby was missing. Jack, still sitting there, saw him looking and gave him a shrug of unknown. 

While the others were getting ready to take Silas to the pentagon, Dreadwing went to go find Shelby. The first place he thought to look was their room. He wasn't even half way down the hall, before he was in his holoform. He got to their room and ran in. 

"Shelby!" He called. 

She wasn't on the bed, he tried to check the closet. He tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge. 

"Shelby are you in there?" He raised his voice to ask. He put his ear against the door and tried to hear if anything was in there. He heard a little shuffling and knew it had to be her. 

"Please let me in." He pleaded.

He took a quick glance at the desk and noticed that the other bottle that had been sitting there earlier, was missing. As well as the pack of cigarettes. 

"You better not be smoking in there." He yelled. He heard a small cough, then the sound of something sizzling. 

"Shelby let me in, please." He tried to plead with her again. 

"I will break down this door." He added in his deep husky voice.

"No." She argued. 

"I know what's wrong. Just let me in." 

He leaned against the door. Hoping she would open it. There was a few moments of silence. Both of them leaning against the door. Shelby sat in the dark, listening to Dreadwing on the other side. She knew he was upset, but she was to scared to open the door. She heard him pleading, but she tucked herself together, holding her legs close to her chest. Taking another swig of her drink, she felt the door shake. 

"I'm coming in. Better back away from the door." Dreadwing said muffled though the door. 

She scurried to the back of the closet and covered herself. The door vibrated as Dreadwing tried to kick the door down. Two more kicks and he had it broken down. Shelby kept her drink close as possible to herself, as Dreadwing sat down next to her. The new light casting over her shivering body. 

"I know your worried and scared. Everything will be alright. We can just wait in here tell they leave. You don't even have to watch them leave." He put his arm around her and she leaned into him. 

She may fight it sometimes, but she is always happier when he is by her side. There was no way she was going to let this get to her. She turned away to sip her bottle. Dreadwing was quiet as he sighed, not wanting to annoy her. After a few more sips she set it down a bit away, so not to accidently kick it. She moved in closer to Dreadwing and curled up next to him. He kept his hold on her and wrapped his other arm around her. He kissed the top of her head, then rested his head on hers. There was a question on the tip of his tongue, that he wanted to ask her. He thought about if it was a good time to ask. He never knew when a time was good or not. He couldn't just keep waiting for a questionable time to ask. Maybe now it would make for a good distraction.

"Shelby, can I ask you a question?" He said into her hair. 

"Of course, anything." She answered. 

"I've been meaning to ask you something for awhile now." He started. 

She moved so she could look up at him. Though it was dark, she could see his bright red eyes shine in the dark. 

"I had to get some information on how humans do it. So, Jack and Miko helped me to learn some more of human culture. So, here is goes. Will you um..go on a date with...with me?" He stuttered out. Though it was hard to see she had a huge smile on her face. 

"I've been waiting for you to ask me." She beamed. 

"You...You have?" He questions, drawing a smile on his face. 

"Yes." She giggled. 

She got on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. This has been the best thing she's heard in awhile. 

"So, thats a yes, you'll go out with me?" He whispered into her neck, holding her tight to him. 

"Yes, I'd love too." She leaned back, trying to look at him. 

She stared into his ruby eyes, they were mesmerizing. He rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. She closed her eyes and leaned in. For a moment, Shelby forgot all about the problems she's been having. Her depression seemed to vanish, for just that moment. That moment ended all to soon. There was a loud knock on the door to the room. 

"Shelby, Dreadwing, The coast is clear. You can come out now." Ratchets voice echoed throughout the room. 

Shelby gave a deep sigh and sat up, fixed her ponytail, then looked over at the ruby eyes that told her where Dreadwing was. 

"Shall we?" She offered. 

He gave a low grunt, "I suppose we should. Don't want to leave Ratchet alone with just Jack." 

"Jack isn't as bad as Miko. He stays quiet when needed and doesn't get in the way." Shelby defended. 

"True, but he sure does take you away from me a lot." Dreadwing teased. 

"He does not!" She scoffed at him. 

They both slowly stood up and opened the door of the closet. Shelby stepped out first, but not before grabbing her bottle. She gave a small stumble, after walking back out. Dreadwing gave her a concerned look. One that she chose to ignore. She gave another stumble when she got to the door. Her hand shot out and pressed against the wall to lean against. 

"Shelby, are you okay?" Dreadwing gasped. 

"Yes, I'm fine. I just got up to fast. Made my head a little dizzy." She lied, not looking at him. 

She stood straight, opened the door, took a swig, swayed a bit, then walked out. Dreadwing didn't believe a word she said. He thought about it for a moment before following her out. He caught up to her before she stumbled again, taking her arm in his. 

"Your not fine. You drank to much again." He stated. 

"Pfft. I could never drink to much." She said taking another swig. He rolled his eyes and they continued to walk. 

He walked her up to the platform with Jack, before going back into his bipedal form. 

"Did they arrive alright?" Dreadwing asked Ratchet in a whisper. 

"They arrived, I know that, but I have yet to hear word from them." Ratchet said typing into his computer. 

Dreadwing gave a nod and walked to Jack and Shelby. They were playing a racing game. It seemed to be the only game they owned, they played it so much. Not just Jack and Shelby, but Raf and Miko too. He stood behind them, watching them play. 

"Ratchet...Ratchet!" Arcee was heard over the comm link. 

"Arcee...come in Arcee." He replied. 

"Send emergency ground bridge." She yelled. 

Ratchet went to the switch and turned on the ground bridge. The Autobots, starting with Smokescreen, drove though. Ending with Optimus. 

"What happened?" Ratchet grabbed his medical kit and started working on the injured bots. 

"Megaton." Optimus sneered. Jack and Shelby gasped. 

"And Silas?" Ratchet inquired. 

"Gone. Megatron took him." Bulkhead answered. 

Shelby's jaw dropped in horror. Fear could be seen in her wide eyes. 

"No." She said so quiet, they almost didn't hear her. 

A tear started to form. She wanted to run, but she didn't know where. Her world seemed to be ending. With Silas loose, he could come after her. He could kill her, like he did with the rest of her family. The room was silent, except for the sound of Ratchet working. 

"It will be okay. We will all protect you." Jack whispered to her as he put his arm around her. Dreadwing noticed this and clenched his teeth and his fists.


	2. Things Never Go The Way You Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Silas on the loose, trying to please Megatron. Shelby finally finds her fight.

"No! How did Megatron get Silas?" Ratchet gasped. 

He was working on Arcee at the moment. She had a nice blow to her arm. 

"What does he even want with Silas?" Smokescreen asked. 

"Damocles." Optimus wheezed out. 

"Optimus don't talk. You need to rest. As do all of you." Ratchet yelled, pointing to all of them. 

Bumblebee and Bulkhead went silent and put their faces straight forward. Smokescreen gave a snicker. Ratchet gave him a dirty look, making Smokescreen bite his lip. 

"You've got to be kidding me, Raf." Jack caught everyones attention as he was on the phone. 

"You of all people, grounded?" Jack said. 

He hung up the phone and looked over at everyone. Shelby was being held by Dreadwing now, who was trying to calm her down. 

"Well Raf got himself grounded. So he's off team Prime tell he gets his grades back up." Jack explained to the Bots. 

Bumblebee gave a few angry beeps about Raf's mom for grounding him. 

"Bee, watch your language." Ratchet snapped. 

"Dreadwing, I'm scared." Shelby whispered from the crook of Dreadwings neck where she was hiding. 

Though she wasn't hiding from anyone in the room, it was more her fears she was trying to run from. 

"I will protect you, don't you worry about that." Dreadwing whispered back. 

He felt her try and get closer to his neck cables. Even though she was as close as she could get. He loved the feeling of how close she was. He loved protecting her. His spark pulled more and more everytime she did something so cute. 

"Prime!" Fowlers voice roared throughout the base. Prime stood up slowly from the medical berth and made his way over to the counsel. 

"Yes Agent Fowler." Optimus asked.

"I got a call from the base in Colorado. They are currently evacuating. I believe a con is involved." Fowler replied. 

"We will get on it immediately." Optimus fortold. The line cut and Optimus turned to the Autobots. 

"Dreadwing we might need you on this one." Prime told him. 

Dreadwing gave him a nod and walked over the platform, he tried to pick up Shelby out of the crook of his neck. 

"Shelby, I have to go." He tugged on the girls shirt. 

She gave a grunt as he pulled, wrapping tighter aroud his neck cables. 

"Shelby, I won't be gone long. I'll be back before you know it." He pulled a little harder and she slowly let go. 

He held her in his servo and brought her closer to his face. 

"Please be careful." She whispered, kissing the spot where his nose would be. If he had a nose. 

His spark nearly pulses out of his chest to reach her. 

"I will." He says to her with a smile, before placing her on the platform. 

She stands close to the edge, holding on to the railing. Watching as the ground bridge opened. Ratchet and Bulkhead are the only ones to stay back. Bulkhead had to go pick up Miko from Saturday detention. Shelby watched at the bots walked though. Dreadwing being the last one, took one more look at her before walking though. She kept staring long after the ground bridge had been closed. Her thoughts were interrupted as Optimus's voice rang out throughout the base. 

"Ratchet, we require backup" He yelled through the comm. 

"Can you remotely disable project Damocles under Agent Fowler's advisement?" Optimus shouted through the link.

"On a human-based computer network without my backup? Without Rafael?" Ratchet countered. 

"Then lets go to Raf." Miko suggested. 

"We can pick up Agent Fowler on the way." Jack added. 

"I'll take 'em." Shelby stood up straight. 

"I know all about the Damocles. I studied it while in the military. Though I did not know my father as the one to create it. Let me grab my pistol and suit." 

With that she ran off, before Ratchet or anyone could say anything. She ran into her room and grabbed her pistol and the suit Shockwave made her, that she locked up under her bed. She pulled on a pair of blue jeans and hooked her belt. Then tucked the pistol neatly in her belt buckle and the suit in her back pocket. She ran back out to the bay. They had already got Agent Fowler and were waiting for her. 

"You better be sober, Soldier" Fowler stressed as she walked up. 

"Of course I am." She lied. 

She may have left her bottle in her room, but that didn't stop her from taking a few swigs before leaving it there. Fowler shook his head at her, clearly not believing her, but they didn't have time for an argument. 

"Are we going or not?" Shelby said standing by the ground bridge. 

"Coming." Jack answered her. The four of them walked though the ground bridge together.

"Wha.. what are you guys doing here?" Raf stammered as we walked through the bridge. 

Agent Fowler walked up to him and said, "Son, your planet needs you." 

Shelby gave a small chuckle. They all turned and looked at her. 

"I'm sorry, It's not funny. Continue." She said covering her mouth. 

"Alright lets see what you can do, kid." Fowler stated as he handed a folder to Raf. Raf cracked his knuckles and started typing away.

Raf's computer started beeping. "I'm in, but I can't reach the targeting systems. Too many firewalls." He stated. 

"Come on, son. If the Cons make off with that interface code, Damocles will light up the sky 24-7." Agent Fowler reminded him. 

Shelby was looking out the window, making sure everything was all clear. Then she heard Raf say something that bewildered her. 

"Let them have the code." He exclaimed. 

"It won't do them any good without the satellite." 

"What the fuck?" Shelby butted in. 

"Can't say I follow you." Fowler wondered. 

"All satellites have maneuvering thrusters so they can adjust their orbits. If I can break into the navigation subroutine, I can bring the whole satellite down." Raf explained. 

"I should of known that." Shelby grunted. 

"Great. Say, um which way is the bathroom?" Fowler had the audacity to say. Shelby just shook her head. 

"What? No! If my Mom sees you." 

"Relax. I trained in covert ops." Fowler interrupted Raf. 

"I don't care if you were trained by a ninja. My Mom has eyes in the back of your head!" Raf finished. 

Shelby couldn't help but chuckle. Of course keeping her mouth covered. 

"Did you hear that?" Shelby asked suddenly. 

"No." The children all said in unison. 

Shelby heard thumping and grinding coming from outside. She looked out the window. 

"Is that what I think it is?" She whispered to herself. 

"I got to get out there." She sighed looking for a way out. 

"Hey Raf, does your window open?" She exclaimed trying to see if it does indeed open. 

"Just to the screen." He said not looking away from the screen. 

"I'll be back." She said before opening his bedroom door and sneaking out. 

"Wha..Wait." Raf tried not to raise his voice. 

"She's military too. I think she'll be good." Miko reassured him. 

Shelby was down the hall, she could hear Raf's mom in the kitchen. She quickly ducked down and got behind the counter. She looked over and saw Agent Fowler tip toeing back to the room. He spotted her and she waved at him to hurry up and that she was good. Once she made sure he was okay, she hurried to get herself outside. Without Raf's mom noticing. Luckily she was able to maneuver around the counter and heard her go down the hall. 

That was her signal, she made a mad dash out the front door. As quietly as she could, she opened and closed the door behind her. She took her suit out and activated it. She heard movement over near the bridge. She ran as fast and as silently as she could, weapon at the ready. Once she got there, she laid down in the prone looking under, she knew now what or she should say who, was making the sounds. Bulkhead and Silas were battling it out. This was her chance. She needed a good shot, unfortunately they started to move away. 

"God damit, Bulkhead! bring him back this way." She yelled silently.

She could hear Silas, tormenting Bulkhead, but she knew Bulkhead and he wasn't one to break so easily. She slowly started to crawl down the hill. There was nothing to hide her anymore. So, if she was caught, she was good as dead.

"Ahh! You should have stayed in bed, Autobot." Silas growled pushing against Bulkhead landing hard on the ground. 

Shelby tried to get closer, as Silas stood back ready to smash Bulkhead with Breakdowns hammer. Then she heard the sound of an engine revving their way. She quickly ducked down, her hands over her head. 

"Hah! Assist what the new guy's for." Smokescreen said after he drove into Silas, then helped Bulkhead up. 

"Woah" Shelby awed. It's been awhile since she's been in the field. 

"One new guy to another this is your final day on the job." Silas stood up staring at Smokescreen. Getting ready to try and pound him. 

"Not his! Yours!" Shelby roared as she finally jumped off the ground, her pistol aimed at Silas. 

"Ah. My last remaining child. Didn't think I'd see you here. Figured you would still be in your room crying." He laughed. She stepped forward, not losing her aim. 

"You know a bullet wouldn't hurt me." He laughed again, eyeing her down. 

She quickly took a shot at his leg, piercing straight though his armor, Energon started to seep. He went down, closer to her level. Now her pistol aimed at eye level with him. Right between his eyes. 

"You don't know what kind of bullets I use." She mused. His eyes widened as he looked at her. 

"Your really going to kill your own father." He smirked. 

"I know I couldn't before, but I've gotten passed that." She smirked back. 

"Silas, return to base immediately." They heard Megatron yelling at him. 

This distracted Shelby. Silas took the advantage and ran though the ground bridge created for him, but not before taking a shot at them. They all jumped out the the way. 

"Looks like someone's big plan just burned up in re-entry." Bulkhead stated as they stood back up, watching the burning Damocles fall into Earth's atmosphere. 

"And for the record, I studied every one of the Wrecker's battles." The two gave each other a high five 

"There's hope for you yet, newbie." Bulkhead told him. Shelby walked over to them. 

"Shelby you were supposed to be with the children and Fowler." Bulkhead stressed. 

"I couldn't let you battle my old man without me." She smirked. 

"Lets get you home. Dreadwing is probably already back, going crazy without you." Smokescreen laughed. 

Bulkhead called for a ground bridge and the three walked though. The minute Shelby was through, she was picked up my a nervous wreck Dreadwing. Checking her over and making sure she is all right. Shelby continued to reassure him that she was okay. Though it seemed she wasn't getting anywhere. 

"Dreadwing, it was probably a good thing she was there." Optimus came up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"How? She could of gotten hurt." He fretted looking over at him. 

"But look at how happy it made her. Look at the smile she was wearing when she walked through the bridge." Optimus recalled. 

Shelby looked up and mouthed a thank you to Optimus, before Dreadwing turned his attention back to her. He gave her a small smile. Optimus was right. This was a good thing for Shelby. Her start to recovery has now officially started. 

*On board the Nemisis*

"Silas, you have earned your place at the table." Megatron sneered, before turning and looking at the Breakdown imposter. 

"Lord Megatron, I am honored." Silas beamed, kneeling down in front. 

"Knockout's dissection table." Megatron restated. 

Silas looked over to see Knockout and a few guards with him. 

"Breakdown would be tickled." Knockout smirked. 

"No, lord Megatron. Why?" Silas questioned Megatron. 

"Because Damocles was the best you had to offer, and it is no more. The human factor did indeed tip the scales... in favor of my enemies." Growled Megatron. 

Behind them, electricity started to crackle. Knockout took his electric rod and hit Silas with it, knocking him to the ground. He landed on the ground with a heavy groan. 

"He will be a fascinating case for study. I will leave no fiber or fiber optic unexamined." Knockout said poking Silas's optic. 

As the guards dragged Silas down the hall. Silas screamed, "No, no. Megatron, I'm here to serve you! No! No! No! No! Nooo!"

Shelby couldn't sleep that night. Thoughts from early tonight, ran through her head. She felt something reopen inside her. Going into the field was a good thing. Its just what she needed to get back on her feet. This made her happy. Knowing that she was going to keep her promise to Dreadwing. She took a look up at the berth where he was recharging. Though, in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She shot her father in the leg. She almost killed him. Did she really want that. Maybe he was right about her. Maybe she couldn't do it. She mentally slapped herself for thinking such things. He was not her father anymore. He was nothing to her and she would be the one to kill him. If Megatron didn't get to him first. 

She decided, since she couldn't sleep, to climb up to Dreadwing and try and sleep on his chest. His spark humming and the warmth it gave always helped her fall asleep. With a few grunts and almost falling off, she made it to his chest. She took a look at his face before, she curled up. He looked so calm and peaceful. It made her happy to see him this way. She hoped they would be able to go on their date soon. It made her very happy to know that he feels the same way about her. She never thought he would want to be with her. She just figured he only protected her and became her friend, because she brought him back to life. She hoped it wasn't that, but now she knew it wasn't and it made her very happy. 

She curled up into a ball on his chest. She had her pillow with her, as well as a blanket. Though, she didn't think she wouldn't need the blanket. She was in a baggy hoodie and leggings and with Dreadwings spark heating things up. She knew she would be warm enough. Once she was settled, she could feel her eyelids start to get heavy. For some reason she wanted to fight it, but she knew she needed sleep. Right before she drifted off, she felt Dreadwing lay his large servo over her. Little did she know, Dreadwing loved it when she would come sleep on top of him. It's the closest he felt to her and he wish he could really sleep in the same bed as her. For now, he was taking things slow with her. He didn't want to scare her. 

*Shelby's Nightmare*

Shouting, Shooting, Explosions, Screaming, Blood, Death. I was walking in the middle of it. The battlefield. I came with the convoy to fix one of my weapons equipment, but thats not what I did when I got there. I ran and ran, searching for my comrades. I could hear shouting behind me, telling me to stop and come back. I couldn't, I had find them. There was no one left alive. Everyone...Dead. Bodies lay sprawled out in the open. Shell cases litter the ground, the brass shining against the desert sun. The desert sand was bleeding. Blood coated the ground. I start to slow down as I near my buddies tent. The guys that I had grown close to before we deployed. 

I was to late. I was always to late. I fell to my knees, picking up the body of the dead. He was young, they all were. I was there leader and I failed them. My uniform, now covered in his blood. I looked over to see one of my corporals. Though, you would never know if you didn't see his name tag. His head had been crushed. Brain matter and more blood splattered the ground. He didn't even have a chance to survive as they shot him too. Not sure if it was before or after his head being crushed. I sat there, for what seemed like forever, tears flooding out of my eyes. I couldn't save them. I felt a hand on my shoulder. One of my men who came with me, he eyes drooped in sadness, he sniffled trying not to cry. I let go of the body I was holding and stood up. We made our way back to the convoy. 

Before we made it, gunfire rang out. We started running, getting behind the vehicles. There never seemed to be a break of fire. I leaned to the side of the vehicle to get a shot in. I was going to kill someone or someone's. Not just one. They killed my men, I was going to kill theirs. I got one kill in, but before I could get another, a bomb went off. The last thing I remember was seeing body's laying around me, fire roaring from one of the vehicles. Then my world going black. 

*Back to reality*

She shot up in a pant. Sweat rolling down her face. She tried to get her breath under control. She had been having the same nightmare for ages now. She couldn't get it out of her head. 

"Why?" She whispered to herself. 

"They're gone. I can't do anything about it." She continued, tears slowly starting to fall. 

She remembers Fisher and how he wanted her to come see him and the rest of the guys, who did survive. Maybe it would give her closer to this madness. She rested her elbows on her knees, then took one hand and ran it though her hair. It was all gross and matted from sweating. 

"When was the last time I showered?" She asked herself. 

Unsure if she should wait for Dreadwing to wake, or just get it over with. She decided to just go. She slid down Dreadwing's side and hopped down to the floor. Making her way over to the bathroom.   
She slipped inside, closing and locking the door. She squinted her eyes as she turned on the bright light. She started up the shower, letting it warm up. She took off her hoodie, then her leggings. She stood there in her sports bra and panties, taking a look in the mirror. She hadn't looked at herself in some time. Not liking the way she looked. There are reasons she always keeps a long sleeve shirt on. As she started at herself in the mirror, she took her right hand and rested it on her shoulder. Feeling the back of her shoulder blade, where the scar started. The indent would always be that way. She would always be able to feel it. She just hoped no one would ever have to see it. Its bad enough when she was stuck on the Nemisis, Knockout saw it. 

She shivered thinking about it. Shaking away the feeling she stripped out of her panties and sports bra. Making her way into the shower. She pulled open the shower curtain and stepped in, closing it behind her. She let the water run down her naked body. Feeling the warmth from the hot water, soothed her scar on her back, as well as the other scars that have been added to her body. She grabbed the shampoo and started to lather it into her hair. She rinsed the soap out of her hair and did the same with conditioner. Grabbing a hand towel, she lathered that up with soap and made her way over her body. Starting with her neck, going down her arms, getting under her armpits, also shaving, cause that definitely needed to be done. She soaped up her breast and down her stomach. She got all the important places and ended with her feet. She ended with shaving her legs. 

Once she was finished rinsing off. She turned off the water, pulled the curtain to the side and grabbed her towel that was hanging up. She slowly started to dry herself off. Clearly not ready to leave the nice hot water. She quickly glances around. 

"Shit, I forgot to grab a change of clothes." She says aloud. 

She finishes drying her hair as best as she could, before wrapping the towel around her bare body. She quietly opens the door and peaks her head out. Making sure Dreadwing was still in recharge. Noticing he was, she walked quickly to her dresser and put on her nude bra, then put on a pink long sleeve shirt with arms that were laced up with ribbon. The put on a pink and black lace thong, then a pair of black ripped jeans over. 

She closed the drawer as silently as she could, but of course is had to give a small squeak at the end. Shelby flinched at the sound and turned to look and see if it woke Dreadwing. He gave a small groan and rolled over onto his side. Shelby let out the breath she was holding and walked over to her bed. She sat down on the edge of the bed. There was a bottle of whiskey on the table next to her bed. Oh how she was craving a drink. It was the one she drank from last night before leaving to Raf's house. She felt proud of herself for not drinking since she got back, but now she was going to give in. She grabbed the bottle and screwed off the cap. She tipped her head back and took a nice long drink of the whiskey. After she finished, she took the back of her hand and wiped the access off her lips. It wouldn't give her a buzz, but it felt good going down her throat. Knowing that, she took another swig. 

Before she knew it, she had finished the bottle. It was at three quarters when she started. She set the bottle down on the desk and laid down on her bed. Staring at the ceiling. She reached over and grabbed her pack of cigarettes of the desk with out sitting up or even looking over. She pulled one of the long nicotine sticks out of the box and put it in between her lips. Grabbing the lighter, she lit up the room from the tiny flame. She took a large inhale from the first drag. Then released a large cloud of smoke. She took drag after drag, enjoying it. She was buzzing a bit now. Her head started to feel light and dizzy. It was her favorite feeling. Except the feeling Dreadwing gave her, when he did something cute, or said something cute, just him overall gave her a wonderful feeling.   
The buzz didn't last long. Soon she was looking for another bottle. Unfortunate for her, the bots had locked up the rest of her liquor when she wasn't looking. They were trying to help her and she knew that, but it did make her angry. When she wanted her alcohol, she was going to get it. Before she went to try and break into the liquor cabinet, she looked around her room, to see if she hid a bottle around. She gave a sigh in defeat. Then swiftly left the room to get more.


	3. Catch Him!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smokescreen gets captured by the Decepticons and Shelby is still trying to find her Alcohol.

Once in the hallway, Shelby could hear bots talking in the bay. Some of them must be up. She knew she was going to have to be stealthy. She moved quickly down the hallway. As she got closer to the end of the hall, closer to the kitchen, she knew who the voices were. It was Optimus and Ratchet. They seemed to be having a private conversation. Luckily, for them, Shelby could care less at this moment. She also wasn't one to butt in on conversations she didn't belong in. She watched carefully as she slid around the corner. Making sure Optimus or Ratchet didn't see her. Now she had the kitchen all to herself. She walked to the back of the kitchen where she knew the liquor cabinet is hidden. She licked her lips as she already imagined the sweet taste of Jack pouring down her throat. She opened up the closet expecting to see the cabinet, but it wasn't there. She moved things out of the way. She pressed her hands against the wall, hoping maybe the bots figured out a way to turn things invisible. She was so focused on the task at hand she didn't hear the footsteps walking through the kitchen to her.

"Looking for something?" Said a deep voice from behind her. She stood up fast and straight, then slowly turned around to see her captures. 

"Hey! Optimus, Ratchet." Her voice going up a notch. 

They both stood in front of her in their holoforms. Their arms crossed and they each had a raised eyebrow. Its as if they rehearsed before coming in. 

"Can I help you?" She asked trying to keep the subject off what she was doing. 

"What were you looking for." Ratchet questioned. His electric blue eyes staring her down. 

"Uhhh...I was looking for....The broom. Oh look here it is." Shelby stammered, she turned and grabbed a random boom and tried to walk past the two. 

"Nice try, Shelby." Optimus said. He let his arms drop, and grabbed the broom from Shelby putting it back in the closet. 

"Its not here." He stated turning and looking at her.

"What's not here? I don't know what your talking about." She lied, her nerves getting the best of her.

Optimus and Ratchet both knew exactly what she wanted. They wanted to make sure she didn't get it. They stood there a moment, not saying anything. Staring down at her, with their electric blue eyes. Ratchet still had him arms crossed over his white lab coat. 

"Stop staring at me like that." Shelby growled. 

This made them stare harder. 

"Ah! Fine. I was looking for my liquor. Now tell me where it is." She snapped. Optimus ran a hand through his thick black neatly combed hair. 

"Its 4 in the morning. How much have you already had to drink?" He asked her. He was concerned for her, they all were. 

"Not that much, I just finished a bottle and I want more. Now tell me where it is." She snapped again. 

"How much was in that bottle?" Ratchet glared at her. 

"Does it matter? I'm fine. I bought that alcohol and I want to drink it." She said her voice raising. 

"We know, Shelby, but we are trying to help you. Maybe you can get more later." Optimus tried to reason with her. Shelby gave him a death glare. He didn't even flinch at this. 

"This isn't over." She snarled and walked out of the kitchen. 

They both watched her leave the kitchen and take a right to her bedroom, they assumed. Optimus leaned against the countertop and rubbed his eyes. 

"She sure is a handful." Ratchet stated, leaning back as well. 

"She is, but I'm not giving up on her and I know Dreadwing won't either." Optimus said. 

"I wasn't saying to give up on her, but I don't think its a bad idea to try and check her into a facility." Ratchet suggested. 

"And risk the cons finding out where she is. Then they destroy a rehabilitation hospital." Optimus disagreed. 

"We just don't tell anyone where she's going. Only a few of us know. That way it will be harder for Megatron to find out." Ratchet explained. 

"No, I don't believe that will help. Seeing how she is, sending her somewhere may hurt her more." Optimus reasoned. 

All Ratchet responded with was nodding his head. This ended the conversation and the to dissipated their holoforms.

Shelby stormed back into her bedroom, not hearing the conversation Ratchet and Optimus had. Dreadwing was still asleep up on the berth. Shelby was still fuming from not finding her alcohol. Attempting to calm herself down, she light up a cigarette. She really wanted that alcohol. She still wants it. She started pacing back and forth in the room. Silently screaming. Silently talking to herself. After she took her last drag, she rolled up her sleeve and put the cigarette out on her arm. Something she had been doing since she got home from the hospital after Dreadwing found her. Over 5 months ago. Her arms were littered with scars now. Seeing as she smoked almost two packs a day, her whole upper arm was nothing but a giant scar. She kept away from her wrist just in case her sleeve rolled up a bit. No she didn't do it all the time. Sometimes she used the ashtray, especially if others were around, but this was the reason she always wore long sleeves. She didn't want anyone to find out. She didn't feel the pain anymore. It was her way of making sure she was still alive. She felt so dead on the inside. Though, she could slowly feel it coming back to life. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

As she rolled her sleeve back down, she heard movement from behind her. She turned and saw Dreadwing sit up. He looked down at her with a confused face. 

"I couldn't sleep." She answered, before he could even ask. 

"Nightmare?" He asked. 

She gave a small nod and looked away. She hated talking about them. Even if it sometimes help to get it off her chest. 

"Anything I can do to help?" He asked, stepping down from the berth, he got into his holoform and walked over to her. 

"Lets go shoot something." She replied with a grin. 

He rolled his eyes at her but thought why not. He gave her a slight nod and she started jumping for joy. She needed to get some steam off her chest. Shooting was the best route to go. 

"Wait, were you drinking this morning?" He stopped before they hit the door. He stopped so fast, Shelby ran into him. 

"Ow" She cried, rubbing her head. 

"I'm sorry." He said kissing her forehead. 

"What did you ask?" She questioned. 

"Did you drink this morning?" He re-asked. 

"Why would you ask such a silly question?" She said sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips. 

"Shelby don't toy with me." He warned. 

"Just a little. I'll be fine to shoot. Come on lets go." She reassured him, grabbing his hand and dragging him out the door. 

They went out to the bay and over to the elevator going to up top. Shelby yelled over to Optimus and Ratchet so they knew where they were. They never liked her shooting inside so she would set up targets up top of the base and shoot up there. No one was in the way, and no one could get hurt. Shelby had started to teach Dreadwing how to use her weapons. Which were totally different than his. Shelby enjoyed teaching him about this kind of stuff. 

"Think I should teach the children how to shoot?" She asked after a few rounds. 

Dreadwing lowered his weapon and looked at her, thinking about what she had asked. 

"I think you would have to make sure it was okay with their parents first. I don't think its a bad idea, but the others might." He answered her. Before she could get another answer in, Dreadwing got a call. 

"Yes, Ratchet....Okay we are on our way." He said though the comm link. Shelby looked at him in confusion. 

"Optimus decoded the last iacon relic." He told her. 

"The last key, You guys need to go back and restore Cybertron." She said sadly. 

"Well lets go see where it is." She said trying to sound happy for them.

They went back down the elevator, all the bots were standing around Optimus and the computer. Dreadwing went back to his titan form and joined in the circle, while Shelby stayed on the platform also watching the screen. It was starting to form an image. Like a clue as to where it could be. 

"Is that?" Bulkhead started. 

"Smokescreen." Shelby finished. 

Sure enough the pixels formed a picture of Smokescreen. Shelby looked around, as did the others. Arcee started ranting about it being a joke, causing them all to start to argue. 

"Smokescreen, return to base immediately." Optimus tried to call him though the comm link. Making everyone go silent. 

"Where did he go?" Shelby asked. 

"He may have deactivated his comm link." Ratchet suggested, ignoring the women. 

Shelby huffed in anger, not liking being ignored. Optimus ordered his location to be found and to activate the ground bridge. 

As so as Ratchet located his position, they all, besides Shelby, ran though the ground bridge. Unfortunately they were to late. They caught Soundwave dragging him through the ground bridge. When they came back though, they all looked disappointed. 

"What happened? Where's Smokescreen?" Shelby asked, leaning against the railing. 

"Soundwave got to Smokescreen first." Bulkhead told her. Shelby leaned back and took a step back. 

"Oh no." She whispered. 

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Ratchet whined. 

"I'm not sure at this moment, old friend." Optimus replied in sorrow. 

There was nothing they could do at that moment. There was no way of locating the Decepticon war ship, though Ratchet was going to try anyway. Shelby walked around to the front of the couch and slumped down into it. Wondering how this would end for the Autobots. 

While Ratchet was trying to find Smokescreen, everyone else just sat around. There wasn't much we could do unless they knew were the warship was. Shelby stayed up on the platform. Dreadwing stood next to her. Neither were talking. No one was talking. They all wanted to get Smokescreen back, as well as the key. The bots wanted their home restored. Unfortunately their chance for it to be them to do it was very low. All they could hope for was Smokescreen to escape or Ratchet to find the ship. They were all thinking of ideas, but to think of a good one was the hard part. Time seemed to slow down. A mere five minutes felt like an hour. Everybot hoped for some good news soon. 

"I need to go smoke." Shelby stated.

Being the only one to say anything in the past hour, surprised everyone. She walked down the stairs and started to walk down the hallway. Dreadwing stayed were he was, knowing he didn't need to hover over her all the time. She walked slow and steady, hands in her pockets, making her way down the hall. Dreadwing watched as she disappeared around the bend. She just kept walked. Past her and Dreadwings room. Past the other bots room. She didn't know where she was going. She wasn't even paying attention. She just needed to get away. Smokescreen was gone, the bots hopes of restoring their home world a little to none. There was nothing she could do. She wasn't a titan like they were. All she did was get in the way. Though she did know what was going on. Lately the bots have been keeping things from their charges. She almost felt bad for them. 

"Shelby!" She heard her name being called. She stopped walking and turned to the voice. Large steps were rushing to her. Rounding the bend was Dreadwing. 

"Ratchet got Smokes signal." 

That's all she needed to know and she started running. Dreadwing scooped her up and with his large steps, they made it to the bay in no time. She used his digits to keep herself standing. Keeping a hopeful look at Ratchet. 

"You missed?" Exclaimed Arcee. Shelby gave a loud gasp. 

"Open another one fast!" Bulkhead stressed. All were staring at the screen. Holding there breath as Ratchet tried his hardest to open another ground bridge. Then Smokescreen's signal disappeared. 

"Oh no." Shelby looked away. 

After a few seconds of silence. 

"Hey, Ratchet. I could still really use that ground bridge." 

Smokes voice came though the comm link in a whisper. Everyone cheered for joy as they waited for him to come through the now open ground bridge. Shelby eagerly bounced up and down in Dreadwing's hand as she waited. 

"Did I tell you? Destiny! Alpha Trion knew I'd keep it safe." Smokescreen boosted as he walked though the bridge with two keys instead of one. 

Shelby couldn't hold back her laugh. While everyone was congratulating Smokescreen, Dreadwing looked down at the laughing women in his servo. It made him smile to see her smile and laughing. He started to turn and walk away. Shelby looked up at him in confusion. 

"Where are we going?" She wondered. 

"To get ready." He stated. She chose not to question anymore. An idea of what for came to her mind and a small smile formed on her face. 

He set her down when they walked into their room. 

"Go get ready, and dress nice." Dreadwing ordered as he went down into his holoform. 

"Um how nice? I don't have any nice clothes." She questioned. 

"Look in your closet. I talked to June about it. She was able to get a few for you." He chuckled. 

Shelby smiled and looked down. Somewhat embarrassed that he was so prepared and she wasn't. She to a quick look at him over her shoulder then walked to the closet. Before opening it, she looked at him again. He gestured at her to continue. She turned back, opened the door. She moved clothes away, looking for the dresses. They were at the end. Each equally beautiful. 

The first one she pulled out was black and pink. The top portion was black v neck with long sleeves, near the wrist was beautiful lace design. The back was zip up. They skirt was knee length, pink satin fabric underneath black tulle. A three inch black ribbon wrapped around the waist, connecting into a perfect bow on the side. The next one was more simple design. Emerald velvet with long sleeves and a V neck. The skirt ending mid thigh. Still gorgeous. The last one was a black button up, sleeves ended half way down the forearm. The skirt ended just above the knee. A light sky blue ribbon wrapped around the waist. At the bottom of the skirt plated with light sky blue. 

"I love them all." She said with a tear in her eye. 

They were all long sleeve, which she was even more thankful for. Knowing June and how she wishes she had a daughter, she could of gone a whole different direction. 

"She knew you would want the long sleeve. Since that is all you seem to wear now." Dreadwing told her. 

"Which one should I wear?" She turned and asked him. He just gave her a shrug. He walked over and put his hands on her shoulder. 

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "All of them will look beautiful on you." 

Heat went to her cheeks. After thinking it over and looking over the three again. She decided on the more simple one. The emerald velvet dress. She grabbed it and held it against her. Then the smile left her face. Dreadwing cocked his head to the side. 

"I don't have any makeup or anything. Or shoes." She exclaimed. Again, Dreadwing knew all about this dilemma. 

He walked to the closet, bent down and picked up a box. He opened it up for Shelby to look at. Inside were a pair of black heeled knee high boots. The heel only about two inches high. There was a zipper on the inside of the boots. Shelby stared at them. Her inner girly girl coming out. She hasn't done anything girl or dressed girl in years. 

"Now she didn't know what kind of make up you would want so she got you a couple different stuff. Don't ask me cause I still don't understand why you would want stuff caked on your face." Dreadwing said handing her a bag full of products. 

"Its okay, I don't really know what I like either. I don't usually use make up. But its nice to dress up and make yourself pretty." Shelby explained. She grabbed the bag and the dress and made her way to the bathroom. 

Dreadwing watched as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. He then proceeded to change into nice pants and a dress shirt. He contemplated if he should wear a tie or not. He had a few different ones that June had gotten for him. Of course they would match with Shelby. He was so focused on getting himself ready and looking for a tie, that he didn't notice Shelby walked out of the bathroom. Dreadwing heard a cough behind him. He whipped around and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He froze, his mouth parted slightly. 

"Speechless?" she noted. 

All he could do was nod. He still had the ties in his hand. She walked over to him and looked at them. She picked one she thought would match better and started to put it on him. They were so close, chests almost touching. He kept his eyes on her, not even paying attention to what she was doing. 

"There." She said patting his chest. 

This took him out of his trance. He looked down at the tie she chose. It was the same color as the dress that fitted perfectly to her body. 

"Thank you" He said softly. "You look breathtaking."

She couldn't hold back the smile forming on her lips. 

"You...You ready to go." He stuttered.

She chucked and nodded her head. He held out his arm for her to grab. She wrapped her arm around his and they walked out of the room. 

"How are we going to get there? In your jet mode?" Shelby wondered as they walked down the hall. 

"Fowler was able to help me out with that." He smirked. 

She gave him a very confused looked, but didn't press it. They walked out the bay and all eyes were on them. Her cheeks slowly turned redder and redder as everybot and human looked down at them. The sound of feet running, made Shelby look up. Miko then ran into giving her a hug. 

"You look absolutely stunning." She yelled excitedly. 

Shelby barely had enough time to take in the complement, when everyone else started complementing her and Dreadwing. Shelby wondered when the humans got here. She didn't think her and Dreadwing were gone that long.

"Wow, Shelby, you look amazing." Jack said as he walked up. Dreadwing wrapped his arm around her waist bring her closer to him. 

"Fowler here yet?" Dreadwing looked up and asked no one in particular. 

Before anyone gave an answer, a navy blue Dodge ram 1500 crew cab dove in from the entrance of the base. It looked as if it was brand new, fresh off the lot. It stopped in the middle of the bay and Fowler hopped out. Shelby could barely contain her excitement. 

"Is this what we are going in?" Her voice raised an octave. 

Dreadwing nodded his head. The smile on her face grew wide showing her shining teeth. She was bouncing in her boots, excited to get in. 

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." She grabbed Dreadwings hand and ran to the truck. She went to the passenger side, knowing Dreadwing was probably going to drive. 

"Do you want to drive?" He asked her pulling her back from the passenger side. 

"You don't want to drive?" She asked. "I don't know where we are going." 

"Right, you got a point." He said, embarrassment showing in his red cheeks. She covered her mouth to cover up her giggle. 

"I'll drive on the way back." She stated. 

He nodded and walked to the passenger door and opened it for her. She did a small curtsy and hopped inside. Dreadwing walked to the driver side, before getting in, he gave a wave to everyone, then hopped in.


	4. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If only it ended on a good note.

Shelby still didn't know where they were going, but she was barely paying attention as she pressed every possible button she could, in the new truck. It was brand new and Shelby was babbling all about it and the new features it came with. Dreadwing had not seen her so happy in a long time. This day has been the happiest day of her life and they haven't even gotten to their destination yet. Dreadwing didn't really understand what she was saying about the vehicle, but he was trying. They were driving on the highway. He was taking her a few towns over, a place June and Fowler had told him about. It was about a half hour drive away, Shelby was still babbling when he took the exit. Shelby looked out the window, not sure what she was looking for. Soon enough, they pulled into a parking lot of a restaurant. 

"Ohhh it looks so fancy." Shelby squealed. 

"The last time I ever did anything fancy was when I was in the military, but I had to be in uniform not a pretty dress." She exclaimed. All Dreadwing could do was give a chuckle. Shelby went to open the door. 

"No I got it." He demanded. Shelby couldn't help but laugh. He got out and ran to her side, so he could open her door. 

"Such a gentleman." She complemented. 

"Anything for you." He said sweetly, holding his hand out so she could step out. They walked arm in arm to the entrance of the building. 

A host was standing behind a podium and behind him was a beautifully lit up wall of extravagant art. The young host wore a ironed white button up and a perfectly done black tie. His black hair was sleeked back with gel. He wore a bright smile as they walked up to him. 

"Have a reservation?" He asked politely. 

"Yes under Fowler." Dreadwing said. Shelby looked at him in confusion.

"Please follow me." The host grabbed silverware and menus and the two followed. 

They took their seats and ordered drinks right way. 

After the waiter left, Shelby had to ask, "Fowler?" A red tint came to Dreadwings cheeks. 

"Fowler made the reservation and because Cybertronians don't have last names per say, he used his." Dreadwing explained. 

"Well that make sense. So what made you want to take me somewhere so fancy?" She proceeded to ask. 

"Well I wanted to take you on a date, a human custom. I don't know anything about dating. So I asked for some help. This was one June and Fowler told me about. Taking you to a fancy restaurant. I was hoping it would also cheer you up." Dreadwing explained. 

A female waitress came by a few minutes later with their drinks and took their orders. Her long red hair was pulled back in a pun and her brown orbs grazing slightly over Dreadwing. Something noticed by Shelby, causing her to send a glare up to the waitress. Dreadwing set his hand on hers, immediately calming her down. As soon and the woman was gone, Shelby took a sip of her wine. Happy Dreadwing let her have some form of alcohol. 

"Well it worked. I was cheered up when you asked me on a date." She mumbled the last part. 

"What?" He asked with a smirk, already knowing what she said. 

"You heard me." She winked, taking another sip.

The night went on better than expected. They talked and laughed over dinner. Never had she expected something like this. This was all so new to both of them. Shelby never really went on dates growing up or even after she joined the military. Any she did go one, were not nearly as special as this. She was falling harder for him now. He made it difficult for her not to fall. From being a Decepticon, to now an Autobot, he never thought something like this would happen to him. The pull in his spark for her was stronger than ever. He may not understand this whole dating thing, but if its what humans do, then he was going to do it. For the beautiful lady sitting, twirling the spaghetti onto her fork. 

Little did they know, they were being watched. Over across the restaurant, sat two men. Keeping causal, but watching them enjoy their dinner. One wore a cherry red button up shirt, opened at the top, sleeves rolled slightly up his forearm. His hair matched his shirt and was short and spiked at the top. His eyes were a deep Ruby red with long eyelashes any girl would die for. When he smiled at the waitress, his pearly whites glistened in the light. The other man with him, was dressed in a silver gray suit and blood red tie. What stood out on him wasn't the mans sneering red eyes, it was the crooked nose that sat on his face. His silver hair neatly combed to the side a single red streak lined the side. He gave a sly smile as the two talked about their plan. Knowing everything was going according too. 

"Do you want desert?" The waitress asked, picking up their finished plates. 

Shelby wiped her mouth, thinking about it. Dreadwing looked at her, giving her the go ahead if she wanted too. Shelby gave a giggle and looked at the desert menu. 

"I'd like the chocolate cake, please." She answered.

"Would you like the ice cream with it as well?" The waitress asked writing everything down. 

"Yes please." She said putting down the menu. 

"And for you sir?" The waitress looked over at Dreadwing, letting her eyes linger a little longer than necessary. 

"No I'm alright." He stated, not even looking at the woman, keeping his stare on Shelby. Shelby blushed and tried to hide it. The waitress took his leave. 

"I hope you know that you will be trying the chocolate cake." She told him, her smile never waving. 

"I will try it for you." Dreadwing told her, keeping his smile as well.

The desert came and they ate it together. Turns out Dreadwing actually loves chocolate. He ate most of the cake, while Shelby had most of the ice cream. They got the check and got ready to depart. Dreadwing stood first and held his hand for Shelby to get up. She took it gladly. This being one of the best nights of her life. As they began to step out of the restaurant, they didn't notice the two men in the back get up as well. Keeping a small bit of distance between them. They followed them out and as the two men rounded the corner, they seemed to vanish into thin air. Dreadwing and Shelby got into the truck and started their drive back to base. Unfortunately, they would never make it back. 

*2 days later*

Shelby woke up in a cold dark box, wet from sweat. There was very little light coming from the holes on the ceiling. She stood up and started trying to find a way out. She realized she was alone and didn't remember anything. How did she get there? Where was Dreadwing? She didn't have an answer for any question coming to her mind. It scared her. She hasn't been alone since Dreadwing. She didn't want to be away from him. Did he know where she was? She started to hyperventilate. She was still in the dress from the date. That meaning she didn't have her cigarettes. She could clearly see there was no alcohol either. How long was she out? She started to shake. Fumbling around, banging against the walls. The withdrawals had already started. Sweat slowly began to seep from her forehead and armpits. Her heart felt as if it were going to beat out of her chest. She grabs her stomach, the feeling of nausea washing over her. The other arm hold against the wall, trying to keep it in. 

She wobbled to where the light was peering though, though not very much light. Just enough for her to take in the damage done to her dress and her body. She was covered in cuts and gashes. Her left arm was fully bandage. The sleeve had been torn off from the shoulder. She gasped in horror, wondering who did this and what did they see. A shiver ran down her spine as she looked at the torn up emerald green dress. A tear came to her eye. The beautiful dress that held to her figure so perfectly was now ruined. It made her think of Dreadwing and how much she wish he was there right now. Whether he had answers or not, he could still hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright. 

The box she was being held in started to shake. This caused her to fall to the ground. Landing on her bad arm, making her shriek. As if in slow motion, the lid to the box slowly began to lift up. Bright light shined though, blinding her to whoever was opening it. Before she could release a scream, a black and purple tentacle reached in and grabbed her. 

"Let me go, piece of shit freak!" She screamed. 

She knew exactly who it was, but there was no way she was going to say his name. None of them were going to hear her scream their names. Soundwave took her down the halls of the nemesis. She struggled against his grip. She knew she wouldn't be able to get out, but she was going to try anyway. She wished she had her pistol on her. Unfortunately, it wasn't going end the same way it did last time she was in his grip. She did her best to hold the vomit down that was slowly trying to rise up her throat as he walked with her.

He took her to the bridge of the ship. Megatron stood, back to them, looking out of the giant bay windows. Starscream stood beside him, a huge smirk on his face, staring at her. Knockout stood off to the side, looking at the ground. His face was emotionless. Though a glint of sadness showed in his optics. Shelby sent a glare his way, but when she noticed the sadness, she couldn't look at him anymore. She turned her gaze back on Megatron, he now turned around, his deadly gaze on her. 

"Welcome back." He sneered. A smirk forming on his face. She gave a low growl. Attempting to not give him the satisfaction of her being here again. 

"Soundwave please set down our guest. I don't think she will cause us any problems." Megatron said attempting to be sweet. He pointed over to the podium near the windows. Soundwave did as told and set the shaking women down. 

"What makes you think I won't cause any problems?" She snapped up at him as she attempted to stand her ground. When she gained composer, she crossed her arms and kept her eyes anywhere but on Megatron. 

"Take a look outside, my dear. I think you will obey this time." He waved his hand towards the window.

Shelby gave a grunt and turned to take a look. The sight, made her want to break down and cry. She fell to her knees. She could hear the laughing of the Decepticons behind her. 

There was nothing left, but rubble. The base had been blown to pieces. The beams that held the base in place, were mangled in strange directions. It was clear the Decepticons had been digging though the wreckage. The Autobot symbol, that was once a sight of pride and hope, was now a sign of destruction. Hope seemed all lost now. It made Shelby wonder what happened to the bots. The children. She wanted to ask, but would she get the truth. Her heart was more broken now than it ever was. How was she going to survive now? Her reason for living, was gone. As far as she knew, from what she saw, they could all be dead. She hoped she was wrong. She looked away, unable to look at the wreckage anymore, but she couldn't bring herself to look up at the bastards.

"I think she has had enough of the view, my liege." Knockout spoke, almost surprising Shelby. 

"Suppose your right, Knockout. Take her back to her box. We shall begin tomorrow." Megatron ordered. 

Knockout walked quickly to grab Shelby. He held her close to his chest as he made his way back to where they had been keeping her. Shelby didn't say a word while sitting in his hand. Shaking, her whole body continued to shake. She stared down, trying to focus on her hands. She never took her eyes off of her hands. She wanted nothing to do with looking at anything else. A groan of pain was then heard. Shelby's eyes snapped up and she saw a door that was opened. 

Before the door could close, she screamed, "WHEELJACK!!!"


	5. Filling in the Blanks

*With Dreadwing*

Dreadwing woke up with a heavy pant. He was back in his real form. Though, he was unsure of how he got there. Only moments ago he was with Shelby, driving back to base. He tried to remember how he got back to his bipedal mode. He looked around and realized he was on the medical table in base. He quickly sat up. A wave of dizziness swept over him, making him have to lay down again. He started hearing noises. At first he wasn't sure what he was hearing. Slowly he started to realize it was explosions and gun fire. He tried to get up again, before he could stand up, Ratchet came running into the med bay. 

"Oh thank the Allspark your awake. We need to go now." He roared. He quickly helped Dreadwing to his feet. 

"Where is Shelby?" Dreadwing managed to mumble out. 

"We don't know, she didn't come back with you." Ratchet tried to tell him. 

"What do you mean she didn't come back with me? How did I get back?" Dreadwing questions, pain showing though his vocalizers. 

"There is no time to explain. The decepticons are about to blow the base up. We need to leave." Ratchet snapped. 

Dreadwing stopped talking. Though, he was still very worried about Shelby.

The next few moments, were a blur to him. As he has yet to fully recover from what happened to him. The last thing he remembered was being told by Prime not communicate and he flew out of the ground bridge. He had no idea where he was and he was now alone. No clue what happened to Shelby or the others. He knew he couldn't stay in his jet mode, for he was an easy target. He franticly looked for a place to hide. Taking cover in an abandoned barn was the only choice he seemed to have. The only thought on his mind was to find Shelby, then find the others. He had too. For now he would wait tell morning to come, then he would start his search.

Morning came and he had still not heard anything from the others. He knew the con's would be listening for them to contact each other, but he was still hoping for this all to be a dream. He walked out of the weather beaten barn and looked to the skys. Hoping for some sign to tell him where he was. For he had no clue where the Prime had sent him. He debated back and forth on whether he should fly or stay put. If he flew, he could easily be spotted, but if he stayed put they might never find him. He chose to fly and head back to Jasper, it was the only thing he could do, and he bet the others were doing the same. He was able to get his navigations working and started heading towards Jasper, Nevada. 

*Late Afternoon*

He had been flying for some time now. He figured out that he was ground bridge to some abandoned town in Washington state. He was getting close to Jasper now. He hoped he might spot some of the others along the way. So far he has had no luck. That was until he saw a Energon cloud to the East. That was his cue and he turned and flew as fast as he could. Which, for being a jet, was very fast. He kept going, Energon was running low, he needed to get to the others fast. As he was realizing all of this, he realized another problem. How was he going to charge? Shelby had gotten him the generator to charge him. How was he going to get another one without her? Then thinking of Shelby, made him miss her more. Where was she? She should be with him, flying with her to find the others. She should be laughing and joking, keeping our minds off of everything going on right now. 

The smoke from the Energon Explosion was dying down now. Lucky for Dreadwing he was just about there. As he got closer he saw the two wreckers running for their lives. From what, he wasn't sure. Until he heard the roar of the dragon behind him. He turned and got behind the metal dragon and started to shoot at it. While he was doing that, he barely noticed the two wreckers being picked up by an unknown spaceship. Hopefully they were the good guys. Both Dreadwing and the new ship were able to shoot the thing out of the sky. He then followed the ship. Knowing the good guys were on the ship. They would know where to go, hopefully. 

They flew for sometime. The ship never turned and shot at him, so he knew he was in the clear. The wreckers knew him. They would vogue for him. They soon flew into a clearing and the ship started to descend. Dreadwing followed in suit. The ship put down its landing gear and Dreadwing transformed. Landing with a loud thump on the ground. He watched as Ratchet, Bumblebee and Raf came running out of the Harbinger. 

"Dreadwing! Your here too!" Raf exclaimed, a huge grin on his face. 

They turned to the ship and watched as a platform started coming down. On it was the Wreckers (including Miko), Arcee and Jack, and a bot he recognized but didn't remember who he was.

He watched at the three children ran and hugged each other. 

"Ultra Magnas." Ratchet gasped. 

"Doctor" Magnas replied, seemingly calm. 

Dreadwing now understood who he was. Ultra Magnas had been Optimus Prime's right hand man back on Cybertron. Dreadwing noticed that Magnas had yet to notice he was there. He was kind of glad, he didn't need someone to start shooting at him. Dreadwing started to look around. He didn't see Shelby anywhere. This made him nervous. He finally had a reason to speak. 

"Where's Shelby?" It came out quieter than he thought. 

Everyone turned and looked at him. Before anyone could answer and before Ultra Magnas could question him, the sound of a helicopter propellers were heard in the distance. Magnas lifted his weapon to shoot it down, thinking it was a Decepticon, but the others stopped him before he could. When it landed, Fowler and June jumped out and ran to the group. 

The hugging then continued, causing Dreadwing to get angry. 

"Where is Shelby!?" He yelled over the chattering crowd. 

Magnas brought up his gun, but it was Ratchet who stopped him. Ratchet walked forward. Everyone besides Magnas had their heads bowed. They knew something that he didn't and it made it furious. 

"Why do you all look upset? What happened?" He spat out, backing away from Ratchet as he got closer. 

"Dreadwing. She didn't come back with you. We wanted to go look for her. Believe me, we really did. But it was to late for us to be able too. Something happened while you guys were gone. The truck or her didn't come back. You all of a sudden were in your real form. Before I could get answers or figure anything out. The rest of the bots came back and I had just got you in the med bay. We had no time to try and do anything. We had to leave. I'm sorry, Dreadwing." Ratchet was barely able to say the last few lines. 

Dreadwing looked back at them all in shock. There was no way this was happening to him. He was speechless. He mouth gaped open, eyes wide. His hand clenched together and started to shake. Finally he looked away from them all. He went to transform, ready to go look for her, but was stopped. 

"What happened?" Arcee stepped up and asked, putting her hand on Dreadwing's arm. He looked down at her in surprise. 

"I don't know. I remember us walking out to the truck. Then next thing I know, I wake up on the examination table. Her smile is the last thing I saw." He explained. 

He could barely stand, he was so distraught. Arcee took her hand off of his and slowly backed away. Time seemed to stand still. No one knew what to do. There was nothing anyone could do to help him or make him feel better. 

"Dreadwing, I know where she is, but your not going to like it." Wheeljack spoke up. Dreadwing swung around and stared daggers at him. 

"Why didn't you say something before? Tell me!" Dreadwing ordered, his voice raised.

"I know I should of said something right away, but it's not easy. Megatron has her. I caught a glimpse of her while I was being tortured on the nemesis. Knockout was carrying her somewhere. She saw me and yelled for me. If she hadn't said anything, I never would have known she was there." Wheeljack said sadly, his head bowed and a frown formed on his face. 

Dreadwing didn't know how this could of happened. He put his hands on his head and started to pace. He was so angry, he didn't know what to do first. He had to go save her. That's what he was going to do. 

"The other thing, um... She didn't look to good. I don't know the extent of it, but she was defiantly shaking and disheveled." Wheeljack added. 

Dreadwing fell to his knees, hands fell to his side. He looked up to the sky and started to scream. Just letting it out. A tear rolled out of his optic and down his cheek. 

"Dreadwing, if we are to get her back, we need you." Bulkhead said from the back ground. Dreadwing stood up, dusted off his knees and wiped away the last few tears rolling down. He turned around and looked at the group. Everyone was waiting for his answer. 

"Alright, how do we do this?" He questioned. 

*With Shelby*

I'm holding on so tightly now  
My insides scream so loud  
'Cause they keep watching, watching me drown  
How did it come to this?  
How did it come to this? How did I know it was you?  
It was a bad dream asphyxiated, watch me bleed  
The life support was cut, the knot was too tight  
They push and pull me, but they know they'll never win.  
Throw it all away, throw it all away!  
I keep on screaming, but there's really nothing left to say  
So get away, just get away!  
I keep on fighting, but I can't keep going on this way  
I can't keep going, can't keep going on like this  
They make me sick and I get so sick of it  
'Cause they won't let me, they won't let me breathe  
Why can't they let me be?  
Why can't they let me be? Why don't I know what I am?  
I force this hate into my heart 'cause it's my only friend  
My lips are sewn shut, I watch myself bleed  
They push and pull me and it's killing me within  
Throw it all away, throw it all away!  
I keep on screaming, but there's really nothing left to say  
So get away, just get away!  
I keep on fighting, but I can't keep going o this way  
I can't keep going, I can't keep going on this way  
I can't keep going, I can't keep going on this way  
My heartbeat stumbles and my backbone crumbles  
I feel, is it real as the lynch mob doubles?  
They want blood and they'll kill for it, drain me and they'll kneel for it  
Burn me at the stake, met the devil, made a deal for it  
Guillotine dreams, yeah, their guillotine gleams  
The blood of their enemies watching while they sentence me  
Sentencing ceased, sentence deceased  
And watch 'em bask in the glory of their holy disease  
Throw it all away, throw it all away!  
I keep on screaming, but there's really nothing left to say  
So get away, Just get away!  
I keep on fighting, but I can't keep going on this way  
I keep on fighting, but I can't keep going on this way  
I keep on running, I keep on running  
I keep on running, but I can't keep going on this way.

The words seemed to flow through her shaking form. She sat curled up in the corner of the box she was stuffed in. Her shaking had calmed down a bit. She was able to explain to Knockout what she needed and he was able to fulfill her request. He tried to talk to her, tried to explain to her. She wouldn't have it. She wasn't in the state for apologies. He was also the one who recaptured her and hurt Dreadwing. Starscream had gone around the ship, gloating about what he had done to Dreadwing. As far as she knew, Dreadwing was dead. He said he shot him right in the chest. He was trying to protect her and Starscream shot him. Causing him to shatter into a million pieces. She had no idea if he lived or not. It didn't matter anymore. She was alone. She didn't know if Wheeljack had heard her, when she saw him. As far as she knew, he was now dead too. Another one of Starscream's lovely antics. She just wanted to go home. 

Shelby looked up at she felt the box shake a little and the top to the box start to move. It lifted up and off, the bright light blinding her. She quickly covered her eyes and waited for something to happen. When nothing did, she looked up again. This time she saw Knockout looking down at her, blocking the light. His optics showing signs of sadness and guilt. 

"I need to check your wounds." He stated quietly. 

He didn't even look at her, he looked down at the box. When she didn't say anything, that's when he looked over at her. 

"Shelby please, they need to be cleaned. I don't want you to get a infection." He tried again. 

"What happened?" She asked, though mumbled, he just heard her. 

He looked away, for he knew what she was asking about. He opened his mouth to say it, but he couldn't find the words too.

"What happened, Knockout? Why do you have to clean my wounds? What did you do to me?" She asked again, firmer this time. Her voice almost demanding. 

"When Starscream hit Dreadwing with the missile...it didn't just hit Dreadwing. It hit you too. Your arms were in front of your face, giving you some cover. As well as you being turned away. So some of the blast hit your arm and shoulder, burning you pretty bad. You were instantly knocked out. There were other wounds on your arm as well. Ones I saw while I was patching you up. Has Dreadwing been hurting you? Or anyone else?" He explained. 

She snapped her eyes to his. Shooting daggers at him.

"How dare you suggest that Dreadwing would hurt me. Why do you care anyway?" She snapped. 

"I have always cared, Shelby. I'm sorry for what I said. I know you don't want to listen to me. But I did and still do care for you. I know I betrayed you, but nothing I said to Dreadwing was true. I just felt the need to cover myself. So my reputation didn't get ruined. I'm sorry that I hurt you and it had killed me everyday since you left. I've been guilt ridden and nothing seems to make up for it. I'm sorry." He finally let it out. Let out what he had been waiting to say to her since she ended up on the war ship again. 

"If you care so much, you never would have brought me here." She stated. Her words cut through him like a scalpel. It hurt his spark to hear her say that. 

"I was only following orders." He whispered. 

She turned herself more into the corner of the box, not wanting to deal with him anymore. Knockout took that as a sign that she wasn't going to come willingly to get her wounds bandaged. So, he decided to grab her and do it anyway. He did try and apologize to her. He still felt bad, but he also didn't want her to die. Dreadwing would make sure he would parish. There would be no mercy on him. Shelby struggled in his grip, but not to hard. She didn't have enough energy to fight. She was very weak. He laid her down on the medical table and he activated his holoform to work on her. 

He slowly started unwrapping her bandages. He made sure to be as gentle as he could. She winced as he got down the skin. The bloody mess from the open wound and starting to scar had stuck to the bandage. Knockout very carefully started to remove the last part of the bandages, trying hard to not rip off the healing skin. A small tear ran down Shelby's cheek. She tried hard to keep a straight face, not show how much pain she was really in. After Knockout got the rest of it off, he started to clean the wounds. He was slow and gentle. He then stopped for a moment, making Shelby turn and look at him. He was staring down at her arm. He took his fingers and gently caressed the other scars. His mouth gaped open, then closed again. He didn't know what to say to her. He had so many questions he wanted to ask her. 

"I burn myself with my cigarettes." She told him, looking away from him. 

"W..Why...Why would you want to...hurt yourself?" He struggled to get out. The beautiful, hardcore, gentle human being in front of him was hurting herself. 

"It reminds me that I'm still alive. That I wasn't able to actually do my job. I must punish myself, hurt myself, for the hurt I've caused others. I don't do it much as I did right after I lost my home. I'm trying to get better, for Dreadwing. He has been with me through all my pain since I met him. But now that he's gone, I'm not sure if I'll survive much longer." She rested her head on her knees. 

Knockout was speechless as he started to clean up her arm. She hissed in pain, which caused him to retract his arm quickly away, letting her calm down. When her face went back to normal, he started again. He started wrapping her arm, slowly, so not to hurt her even more. 

"I'm sorry you feel you need to hurt yourself for something that wasn't your fault." Knockout whispered. 

She gave him no acknowledgement that she heard him. He would never be able to make her feel like it wasn't. 

Her arm was now wrapped up again. She took her hand and started to run it over her arm. Knockout was able to hide the other scars. She was thankful for that. He had now left her sitting on the table and went back into his real form. He stood back resting against the counter, arms crossed and starting down at her. She didn't move. She still had no energy to do so. Her shaking had gone down at least. She would make it, but did she really want to. She wasn't sure she wanted to live without Dreadwing. Knockout put his servo down in front of her. She looked up at him in confusion. 

"I'm sorry, but you have to go back in the box. I wish I could keep you out, but Megatron could walk in anytime." He explained. 

She gave a nod in understanding and tried to stand up. She got on her knees and attempted to take a stand on her left leg. Almost immediately after she fell back down. She hadn't stood on her legs since she woke up. They didn't want to work. Knockout moved his servo closer and used his other hand to help lift her onto his servo. 

The metal box came into view, growing bigger the closer they got to it. She dreaded going back in. A shiver went down her spine, causing her to give a shake. Knockout noticed, but said nothing. He already knew why. He set down his servo in the bottom of the box. Shelby slowly crawled off and crawled back into the corner. Curling back up, shutting the world out. Then it went dark, as Knockout put the lid on. She finally started to let the tears fall. She couldn't hold it in anymore. Everything hurt, everything. Why was this happening to her? Where was Dreadwing? He can't be gone. She wished he was with her right now. She missed him more now than ever. 

She thought about the things she would do if she could see him one more time. She would be holding his hand right now. She would be holding on to him, keeping him close. His arms would be wrapped around her. His lips kiss the top of her head. That always brought a smile to her face. She wouldn't just let him kiss the top of her head this time. She would look up at him, grab his cheeks with both her hands and bring his face down to hers. She would stare into those bright ruby red eyes. Standing on her tiptoes, she would lean up and kiss his lips. He would probably be surprised by it at first, but she knew he would lean in and kiss her back. At least she hoped he would. She brought her fingers up to her lips and lightly touched them. She wished she could really feel his lips against hers. The thought of it only made the tears come down harder. 

The box started to shake again. This time more violently. This wasn't someone walking in or about to open the lid. Something had to be attacking the ship. She had no idea what, but she hoped it was the Autobots. Maybe Wheeljack did escape and told the others where she was. She hoped that's what it was or something like that. She stayed huddled in her corner, trying to keep steady as the box started shaking more and more. Next thing she knew the box was being picked up and she slid to the other side. Whoever was carrying it, wasn't being so gentle. She could now hear yelling, and more shooting and explosions. The shooting was to loud for her to hear what anyone was saying or who was talking. Her being rattled around in the box didn't help either. 

She wished she could see what was going on outside. If anything she's surprised she hasn't been knocked out yet. There was nothing she could hold on too. Her shoulder was screaming in pain as it hit the walls. The pain at most was enough to knock her out. After a few more hits, she was finally done. It took one more hit to knock her out. Now it was unsure, if she would wake this time. To much damage had been done to her head and body. By time the box had stopped shaking, she was unable to see who opened the box. The bright light, shined over her limp body. A trembling servo lightly wrapped itself around her body and brought her out. Gently rubbing a digit over her, attempting to wake her.


End file.
